The Hague, Netherlands, Oct. 9 (Jiji Press)–The International Criminal Court on Friday denounced the United States’ designation of The Hague, the Netherlands-based court as a target of its sanctions the same day. “It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law,” the ICC said in a statement. “The court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence, for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes,” ICC President Tomoko Akane said. In the statement, the ICC said the designation is aimed at “disrupting the court’s operations and at intimidating those who work for or cooperate with the court,” adding, “The court, for its part, will not be deterred.” “History will judge this moment,” the court said, asking its 125 member countries and regions for support so that it can continue its activities. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which has criticized the ICC for posing a threat to his country’s sovereignty, added the court to its sanctions lists on Friday. The move came after the country sanctioned Akane, a Japanese national, in August over the ICC’s war crime investigations involving U.S. troops and its issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
